1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tracheal intubation devices and, in particular, to a tracheal intubation device that allows single handed laryngeal suspension, secretion aspiration, oxygenation, and visualization.
2. Background and Related Art
Laryngoscopes are generally used during tracheal intubation procedures, both in surgical situations and in any emergency situation requiring access to a patient's mouth and throat. Laryngoscopes are used to suspend the oral cavity, Pharynx and associated structures open for insertion of, for example, endotracheal tubes, which may facilitate positive pressure ventilation for the patient's lungs.
Generally, a laryngoscope comprises a handle and a blade portion. Laryngoscopes are commonly constructed from either stainless steel or chrome-plated brass, but can also be made of hard plastic. The handle portion is cylindrical and will typically contain a power source, generally a battery, which powers a light bulb attached to the blade portion. The light bulb illuminates the inside of a patient's mouth and throat during endotracheal intubation. The blade portion is detachably secured to the handle portion and extends away from the handle curving downwardly with respect to the top of the handle. Other types of blades are straight, extending nearly perpendicularly from the handle. Additionally, the blade portion may include a side wall, sometimes called a tongue deflector, which assists in manipulating and moving the patient's tongue to the side of the patient's mouth to permit direct visualization of the larynx/vocal cords and placement of the endotracheal tube.
Representative laryngoscopes comprising a blade and handle design are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,069 to Mentzelopoulos et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,053 to Dragisic et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,203,320 to Augustine discloses a tracheal intubation guide with a curved, open tubular device through which flexible tubes and the like can be guided into the trachea of a patient.
When using a laryngoscope with a standard curved blade, the blade is placed into the anatomical region called the vallecula. This is the space immediately anterior to the epiglottis at the base of the tongue. Optimally, pressure is exerted on the tongue by the operator at this location in an upward fashion to suspend the larynx and aid in visualization of the glottic aperture. It is through this glottic aperture that tracheal intubation is performed. Often times the glottic aperture is rendered difficult to visualize by secretions (i.e., blood, mucus, gastric contents, foreign debris, etc.).
Currently, the state of the art is for the operator to use one hand to suspend the larynx while the other hand has to periodically aspirate retained and unwanted secretions to visualize the glottis to allow for intubation of the trachea. Many times these secretions continue to build up after the operator has cleared them initially, thereby rendering the glottis poorly visualized once again. There are many occasions where secretions are so massive that continued aspiration of them is the only way to maintain an open glottic aperture. This situation requires the operator to use both hands simultaneously—one for suspension and one for aspiration—preventing early tracheal intubation.
In respiratory emergencies where time is of extreme importance (measured in seconds not minutes), single handed simultaneous suspension and aspiration would enable the opposite free hand to be ready to pass the tracheal tube past the glottic aperture.
None of these devices, however, provide dedicated means to allow for aspiration of secretions or for improved visualization, while simultaneously allowing for single-handed insertion of endotracheal tubes. There continues to exist a need for a tracheal intubation device that addresses all of these shortcomings.